In America, thrash metal bands seem to gracelessly age – they get old, bald, score endorsement deals and release shit that falls miles short of their seminal work to fan bases that eat it up regardless of merit or lack thereof. Perhaps there’s something in the water in Germany, because on the other side of the pond Teutonic thrash legends Kreator are still releasing relevant material. On ‘Hordes of Chaos’, the German thrash sound they helped form mingles with The Haunted-esque stomp, and while I’m sure the purists may wince at the thought, the added influence really works wonders here. Aiding in the attack is the production job, which is a no-frills replication of a live recording – it does a great job of boiling these songs down to their essence. For someone who wants pure German thrash, nobody’s stopping you from wearing down the grooves on your copy of ‘Pleasure to Kill’ once more, but if you can accept a little bit of change and innovation with your thrash you’d be well-advised to give this one a listen (Rob S.).
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